Former Panthers players Anthony Stolarz, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Steven Lorentz returned to Sunrise and received their 2023-24 Stanley Cup championship rings prior to the game. Both teams are in the top two spots in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Florida(13-9-1) leaped out to a 2-0 advantage in the first period. Carter Verhaeghe pushed the puck back from down low. Aaron Ekblad angled a pass from the top of the zone. Aleksander Barkov scored his fifth goal of the season on a one-time slap shot from the right circle at the 4:46 mark during the power play.
The Cats made it a two-goal margin 2-0 just 50 seconds later. Eetu Luostarinen crashed the net from the left goal line on a shot. Mackie Samoskevich got his fourth career goal with a snap shot from the left of the crease.
Toronto(13-7-2) surrendered a shorthanded goal with 2:56 left in the second period and were down by three goals. Barkov carried the puck through the neutral zone and dropped it off at the top of the Maple Leafs zone. Sam Reinhart snapped a shot from the high slot area past Stolarz for his 17th goal of the campaign.
The Maple Leafs later scored on the power play with 1:29 to go in the second and trailed 3-1. John Tavares won a left-circle faceoff and advanced the puck. Mitch Marner released a wrist shot from the crease area past Sergei Bobrovsky for his ninth goal this season.
In the third period, the Cats extended their lead 4-1 with 5:23 left on the power play. Evan Rodrigues dumped the puck from the red line into the Toronto zone. Sam Bennett chased and touched the puck on the left wing. Verhaeghe fired a rising wrist shot from the left circle for his sixth tally in 2024-25.
Toronto pulled their goalie with 3:13 remaining in the third. Bennett scored an empty-net goal from above the right circle with 1:28 left. Verhaeghe chalked up his third point of the contest on the play.
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